It currently uses Unity's built-in skybox for simplicity's sake (which is far from ideal, I know). It uses a set of 6 regular textures. I actually have a procedurally generated star map using LibNoise, but it's not finished so I have chosen to exclude it until a future update.

I would really appreciate some feedback in regards to the XBox 360 controls if anyone has a controller around. What feels natural to me may not feel the same to others... :-|

Also, in case anyone is interested in taking a quick glance at how the UI is set up and configured:

I'm guessing it's that odd issue I see with Unity sometimes. Shutting down Unity usually helps (is it running in the background?). If not, try this link: http://www.tasharen.com/sg/index2.html -- the only difference between this and the original is the smooth camera follow script is partially disabled.

Strange ... for some reason it's still happening with the new link and with Unity switched off. As soon as I press a key to move the ship or use the right mouse button, the whole screen begins to shake and the ship barely responds to input. It may be this computer that I'm using ... I'll try again on my home laptop when I'm home from work.

What type of documentation do you provide with it? Is there a walkthrough document or is it all in code comments?

That's odd, can't say I've seen that happening and I've tested it on several PCs, macs, and even an android phone. It almost sounds like the rumble effect gets turned on, but that should only happen if you collide with something. Are you trying multiplayer? Currently all players spawn in the same location, which can cause issues if they don't move (note to self: randomize that). What are the specs of your machine? As for documentation, I've commented the code where I believed it was necessary, but most of it is pretty clean and straightforward. If anyone has any questions, I'm able to answer them pretty much any time, unless I'm asleep.

Sounds good. It does seem like the rumble effect since the screen seems to rotate a few few degrees and then rotates back in the opposite direction a few degrees and so on. I am trying multiplayer so perhaps that's the issue.

The machine I'm using is my work laptop ... a dual core Intel CPU running Win XP and with 2 gigs of ram. I'm pretty sure my next game will be a space shooter so will pick this up as my starting point as it has multiplayer worked, which is still a big mystery area for me at the moment.

I think I managed to reproduce the problem on my end. The physics updates currently happen 100 times per second. If I change that back to 50 times per second (Unity's default), I get jitterness. I'll try to figure out why this happens and fix it.

Not yet. I'll most likely add some rockets this weekend just for the fun of it though. Each game has their own approach to how they want to handle combat, so I've chosen to omit the damage and combat mechanics from the toolkit... but if there is enough interest, I can certainly add it.

The control on iOS/Android is touch-based in this version, and there are no visible widgets. With the next update there will be, but it's a bit limited compared to its PC and 360 counterparts (no maneuvering thrusters).

- Hold the top left corner to accelerate, bottom left corner to slow down.
- Drag from the center of the screen to steer.
- Left side of the screen to roll left, right side of the screen to roll right.

It still feels a bit awkward to me and I'm open to suggestions on how to make it better (accelerometer perhaps?).

The update is now on the asset store:
- Changed the way camera was following the ship, eliminating jitter.
- Proper touch-based controls on iOS (ReadMe has the instructions).
- Some other tweaks and fixes.

Yup it's all in C#. I documented all the potentially confusing parts of the code and used proper function headers for intellisense, and some things (network manager for example) are commented extensively -- but if there is something else you'd like me to document better, just let me know.

The rendering process is split up into 3 cameras.
- Distant camera renders objects that are massive -- skybox and the planet.
- Main camera follows the distant camera (clears the depth), and renders all regular objects (ships, asteroids, space station). This is also the camera with post-processing effects.
- Last comes the 3D UI camera. It happens after the post-processing effects, so UI doesn't get affected.

It runs fairly well on iOS and Android. I was getting 45+ FPS on an Android phone (with shadows and post-processing effects disabled), and there are some things that can be easily optimized -- both the ship and the space station are made out of several pieces (boxes), which will go down to 1 draw call each when replaced with a proper model. There was one remaining issue on the mobile devices that I haven't yet addressed -- the forcefield effect doesn't work so it needs to be replaced with a simplied shader.

Update 1.7 has been submitted to the Asset Store:
- Added heat-seeking missiles with all the relevant logic.
- Added explosions for heat-seeking missiles.
- Target reticles now actually do something, showing you what the heat-seeking missiles will lock on to when fired.
- Added the ability to shoot missiles (Left mouse button, E, or 360 controller's 'A' button).
- Some tweaks to the UI fixing some issues with input in complex multi-UI-viewport scenes.

The web player link has been updated. Try it with a friend and see which one of you can dodge the missiles.

I believe adding missions and goals is something those who purchase the kits should add themselves, as each one of us has different ideas as to what the game should be like in the end. If the game is already there, then it would be a game, not a starter kit -- and it would impose a certain way of thinking upon those that try it.

As an example, in its current state, the kit can be used to create a space combat game where you fight other ships; or a racing game where you fly through checkpoints at high speed; or an exploration / resource gathering game... all very distinct games. The best thing I can do for those that use the kit is to make it generic enough to not be restricting, and let other people's imagination do the rest.

That said, I might add an objective / mission system if I can make it generic enough, but in the near future I will be focusing on adding extensive documentation on how to make the most of the systems already in place.

Game is flickering when i shot missile or when i change direction of ship. I think i know the problem.
Definitely something happens when your ( shader / particular ) starts to show vena from speed.
( but its weird cause in last update everything was okkei but at least its a head start for you )